


Thanksgiving

by Aiyume



Series: Julian's New Normal [3]
Category: Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas
Genre: But so does Yads, Found Family, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I am SO PLEASED Purrcaso has a tag, I was really feeling the cozy in this one, Julian Has It Bad, M/M, these boys are too cute to handle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aiyume/pseuds/Aiyume
Summary: Julian finally gets to see his damn boyfriend.
Relationships: Julian Diaz/Yadriel Vélez Flores
Series: Julian's New Normal [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979707
Comments: 11
Kudos: 112





	Thanksgiving

It’s three days to Thanksgiving and Julian is  _ ecstatic _ . Don’t get him wrong life’s been  _ insane _ the last month or so but his friends are safe, Yads seems to finally be making some headway into their circle (Flaca always liked him, bless her, but for the rest it’s been a bit of a lowkey uphill climb they’ve clearly been hoping he hadn’t caught on to), and this weekend Rio is  _ finally  _ letting him out of his sight! To visit Yads!  _ Outside of school! _ So, yeah, Julian is e-x-c-i-t-e-d and even this dumb algebra test can’t bring him down. Monday ends finally with him clearing the test (not acing, possibly not even passing, but hey, he’s  _ at  _ school at least that has to count for something!) Tuesday dawns a bit dreary but Lettie brings a ball to lunch and they play a mini game of pick-up. Wednesday’s lunch is tense again (he’s not as unobservant as he lets on, he knows the tension picks up when Maritza’s group has hung around Alexa recently) but he correctly answers a tough question in his Psych class and isn’t  _ that _ a pleasant surprise?

And then it’s Thursday. Glorious, wonderful Thursday. Everyone’s been staying with him and Rio since The Incident (it seems it’s not just Rio who’s still dealing with the effects of his disappearance and wanting to stick close) so all of his family is there. The weather is back to Tuesday’s dreary mess but they’re all staying in today anyway so it doesn’t much matter. The only one missing is Yads (and grudgingly maybe Maritza, and her idiot pups, and if they’re included then he  _ definitely  _ misses Purrcaso—) but he gets to go over on Saturday and spend the  _ whole  _ day there so that’s fine. Apparently, he’s not the only one hopped up on whatever weird thrum of happy is in the air today. Rio’s clearly already up and in the shop for some last minute repairs. A couple boxes of brand name sugary cereal they never usually bother to indulge in are waiting for them all on the counter top. And just the sound of Julian pouring a bowl has Omar, Luca, Flaca, and Rocky popping up too despite the ungodly early hour. Julian and Rocky pour bowls while Luca switches the TV to the parade which is just starting in New York. They lounge around the small living room, crunching on chocolate crisps and rehydrated marshmallow bits while they take turns nitpicking various celeb segments and laughing at the dumb costumes they force the balloon carriers to wear. Flaca eyes the Rockette performance critically and Luca cheers when the Pikachu balloon hits the plaza. Despite them all being well into their junior year of high school they all make a ruckus when Santa pulls up and waves from his sleigh. It’s so good and comfortable Julian could just about burst, and from the lazy sprawl of his family all around him he’s not the only one feeling it. The sprawl continues through the dog show—none of them even  _ like _ dogs really, except maybe Luca because he likes  _ everything _ but they’re comfortable and having fun so it doesn’t much matter. Rio appears right as the final judgements are being made and enlists the girls and Omar to join him to go pick up the food while Julian and Luca clean up a bit. They decided to go for a combination dinner of their favorites to avoid straining their most frequented joints on what is technically a holiday, even if they  _ are _ open, so their feast ends up being a mish mash of Mexican, Italian, and Chinese. Julian doesn’t think it’s ever tasted so good. By the time they’re done they can hardly move for overeating and decide to binge as many movies as they can keep their eyes open for even though the sun’s not even too low yet. Rio surprisingly joins them and all are content.

Friday dawns a bit less grim out but also a bit more normal. Rio heads down to work and Luca refuses to budge out of his blanket cocoon until at  _ least _ noon. They snack on the few leftovers from last night and Omar somehow bullies them into actually attempting some homework, much to the amusement of Flaca. It’s not quite the cozy warmth of the day before but it still feels to Jules like some of the tension has finally gone.

And then, Saturday.

Julian is up early. He can’t help it. Daily doses during lunch at school are one thing but after the few days of constant I-am-literally-tied-to-the-object-around-your-neck closeness of Yads’ and his meeting-flirting-beginning-of-their-romance Jules is  _ ready _ to get to hang out again with his actual boyfriend, no awkward meshing of friend groups included. Plus, Julian’s never been  _ neglected _ or anything but the constant attention and presence of Rio and his friends is a  _ far _ cry from the freedom he had Before and he is very much looking forward to having a taste of that freedom back. So Julian is up and he’s pumped and he’s ready to go by 8:30 am, despite the unease he can sense from Rio and his friends. He deals with their obvious stalling conversations for a bit but by nine he’s twitching too bad to take it anymore and starts to head out. Rio makes him take the car. Apparently, none of them are quite ready yet for Jules to be walking the streets of LA. It feels like a close thing that Rio’s not trying to  _ actually drive him _ and it will get him there faster anyway so Jules takes the car and makes a run for it.

Finally he’s at the cemetery. One might think that after sort-of dying in a place he’d never want to set foot in it again—and really to be fair he doesn’t even really want to  _ think _ of the creepy murder basement of the old church let alone go  _ there _ —but all Julian feels looking in the main gate of the graveyard is a small thrill of joy. Yeah they went Through It here, but he also met Yads and Maritza, came just a bit more to terms with the loss of his dad, worked through some of his issues with Rio, and gained a whole new insight into a culture full of magic. So Julian doesn’t even hesitate. He nods to the brujos on gate duty and basically runs to the door. As he knocks he realizes he hadn’t even texted but it seems Yads was just as keyed up as Jules because he’s there, bright eyed and smiling wide as he lets Julian in. Before they can go upstairs to hang out, or take a walk together, or even  _ hug _ Lita swoops in on them. Yadriel had been up but he hadn’t yet eaten and there is no possible way to get out of Lita feeding them, especially when Julian can’t help but look guilty when she turns the question on  _ him _ too. 

So they’re a bit delayed on the alone time front but really, can Julian honestly complain? He’s been dreaming of that pan de muerto since his first bite. Yes he was half dead at the time, but Lita’s cooking is still one of the best things he’s ever eaten and the chilaquiles in front of him are no different. He makes the mistake of mentioning this, and is thus given three whole servings before Yadriel manages to drag them both out of the kitchen. Jules is way too full and Yads verbally pokes and prods at him for being dumb enough to provoke a Latina woman into stuffing him like a turkey. Yads insists they take a walk lest Julian fall asleep and his overfull belly suffocate him but his eyes are sparkling and he’s got that wicked, shit-eating grin on his face Julian loves to see and—damn. Julian has it  _ bad _ . He  _ really _ doesn’t feel like moving but he’s so full the prospect of sitting more  _ also _ seems bad so he bows to the dubious wisdom of Yadriel and they head out. 

The weather has once again decided to lighten up on the Grim, at least for the morning, so while there’s a bit of a chill in the breeze the sky is clear and the sun is shining golden on the various mausoleums and headstones. Yads picks a direction and they just meander through, likely on one of the patrol routes Yads now picks up every few nights or so. It’s different—every time Julian’s walked here before they’ve been rushing—to hide, to get to school, to get to safety, to celebrate the aquelarre. Now the cemetery is quiet. There’s only the normal amount of flowers around and far fewer brujos. It’s nice and Julian can’t help but shoot a dopey smile Yadriel’s way. He’ll never forget getting to attend the Día de Muertos celebration and meeting Yadriel’s mom— _ especially _ not her, talk about stress for the best of reasons—but he can’t deny that the place alone has its own charms too. And he’ll never have to listen to that one idiot wailing “Wonderwall” ever again. 

They’ve been walking for a while and he’s surprised to find them close to the Old Church. It’s just as gorgeous as ever, if in a dilapidated sort of way. He finds he wouldn’t mind seeing the original statue of Lady Death again. It’s where he “woke up” that first time and where Yads made him his very own ofrenda. He’s never stepping foot in that cistern portal-to-hell basement ever again but Lady Death, her he could probably do. Just, maybe not today. A glance at Yads proves that a) they’re surprisingly still in sync even though they’ve only had lunches together for weeks now and b) Yadriel is thinking the same thing. He moves off to double check the back gate is locked—might as well while they’re there—and gives Jules a minute alone with his thoughts. Well, more like a few seconds since as soon as Yads is out of sight around the corner of the church a passing brujo takes that opportunity to begin to grill Julian.  _ So you’re The Boyfriend  _ this and  _ I thought you’d be taller  _ that. And really, Jules wants to be polite to Yadriel’s vast network of family, he does, but he’s never exactly been a  _ quiet _ kind of kid. So by the time Yadriel gets back to his side Jules is neck deep in a debate with Señor Criticize the Boyfriend over the relation between foot size and strength of character in facing financial challenges, of all things. When Jules turns to Yads to  _ please  _ back him up on that being absolute  _ bullshit _ however all he gets is an admittedly entertaining, if not slightly worrying view of his boyfriend’s jaw damn near touching the floor. Apparently, being sort-of dead and then definitely dead and  _ then  _ brought back by some serious brujo magic left Julian a little different than any of them thought. And, apparently, Jules is even worse at being able to tell a spirit from a living person than Yads is.


End file.
